Chapter: 30
“Damn it.”
Alexis ground his teeth. “That bastard… damn him to hell!”
His stream of curses, all aimed at a single man, continued until Loren Castle had shrunk into the distance.
“Aaaagh! That lightning-cursed bastard!”
Unable to hold back any longer, Alexis slammed his fist into the carriage wall and kicked wildly at the seat in front of him. Philip took a direct hit to the shin—but faced with an Alexis consumed by rage, he couldn’t even cry out.
“One day, I’ll tear that son of a bitch apart!”
“S-Shh! Your Highness, please…!”
Though he couldn’t complain about the pain, Philip begged him earnestly, his face pale.
“What if those words leak out and a Golden Dragon shows up?”
“The one who picked the fight was Claude—that bastard!”
“Yes, yes. His Grace the Grand Duke was entirely in the wrong. So please, calm yourself…”
Philip kept repeating that the Duke of Loren was at fault and that Alexis had every right to be angry, doing his best to soothe him.
That only made it sound more hypocritical.
This time, Alexis deliberately kicked Philip’s shin hard
“Ugh!”
“As if you believe that yourself!”
Philip hugged his leg, trembling. In the suddenly quiet carriage, only Alexis’s harsh breathing could be heard.
In private, he acted like he wouldn’t hesitate to start a war—yet in front of his subordinates, he played the righteous man, the man of principle, the magnanimous noble.
That sickening hypocrisy was why Alexis had refused the fifty horses. Accepting them would have meant forgiving Claude.
He had torn the blank check to pieces as well.
The moment he accepted that check, Jeanne would belong to Claude completely.
This incident solidified two convictions in Alexis’s mind.
First: Claude de Loren was far more black-hearted than he had imagined.
Second: Jeanne had been deceived by that man’s silver tongue.
“How dare he… my Jeanne…!”
There was no way Jeanne had entered Loren of her own free will.
Claude must have led her into it.
The moment he reached that conclusion, flames flared up inside Alexis.
No matter what it took, he had to rescue Jeanne.
“Turn the carriage around. Now.”
Alexis clearly remembered—right after hearing the knight’s urgent report, Claude had spoken Jeanne’s name.
“Y-Your Highness? Where to?”
Alexis stared south through the carriage window.
“Cassis.”
* * *
At the same time, Loren Estate.
“I knew I shouldn’t have left my post.”
Gaston’s voice, as he picked up the scattered documents from the floor, was half self-reproach, half nagging.
“What would you have done if Prince Alexis had accepted? We nearly lost fifty horses—and money on top of that.”
His hands never stopped moving, nor did his grumbling.
Claude, however, paid him no mind. Resting his chin on one hand, he stared intently at the communication mirror.
Seeing that, Gaston snapped irritably.
“Are you even listening to me?”
“I’m not deaf.”
Though he replied at once, Claude’s eyes never left the mirror.
Gaston shook his head.
“Did you really say that?”
“Say what?”
“That you’d tear out his tongue and all that.”
“I did.”
“No, honestly—!”
Gaston tried to shout, but his throat clogged up, forcing him to stop. He let out a boiling sigh.
“What on earth did the prince do to provoke you like that? One wrong move and the Golden Dragon’s judgment could have descended on Loren!”
“It doesn’t show up over a few words.”
“….”
The detached way he said it was infuriating, but Gaston knew Claude wasn’t the sort to pick fights without reason.
That was why his scolding had always carried the unspoken assumption that Alexis had started it.
Claude idly turned the communication mirror in his hand.
“He said she was his woman.”
“…Pardon?”
“Said she’d given him her body and her heart.”
Claude didn’t need to say her name. Gaston knew exactly who he meant.
And though Claude spoke calmly, Gaston could tell—he had endured as much as he could.
He considered pressing further, then decided against it.
“I suppose even I’d lose my temper hearing that. You went quiet all of a sudden.”
“Complaining would just make my mouth hurt. I gave up.”
In the end, nothing happened.
The tense standoff was resolved—unexpectedly—by Alexis’s aide.
[Y-Your Highness. It’s time to depart. If you’re late, the next engagement will be delayed, and Her Majesty will be concerned.]
At the mention of the Queen, Alexis, who had been fuming, suddenly cooled as if doused with cold water. He shot Claude one last sharp glare, then left the office.
“You should’ve stuffed it into his mouth, even if you had to force it.”
Claude muttered under his breath.
Gaston’s eyes drifted to the scraps of paper on the desk—the remains of what had once been a blank check.
“Planning to tear out his tongue and use the check to stop the bleeding?”
“Oh! That’s a great idea.”
“Please restrain yourself. That would truly be disastrous.”
As with the Pascal incident, Claude’s razor-edged fury was unfamiliar.
Still, Gaston replied with his usual composure.
“About today… Jeanne doesn’t know, does she?”
“I’ll keep it secret. And don’t worry about the servants—I’ll make sure they keep their mouths shut.”
Claude let out a short laugh when Gaston understood him without needing him to finish.
Just as Gaston placed the last document back on the desk, the communication mirror shimmered.
Claude, who had been waiting so intently his neck might snap, straightened at once.
Laurent’s face appeared in the mirror.
—Sorry for the delayed report, young master.
“Damage?”
—A few ships and some nearby buildings were damaged during the subjugation, but aside from that, there were no casualties.
Unannounced incidents usually meant deaths. This time was different.
If Claude hadn’t stationed a Master at the viscount’s estate in advance—if Jeanne hadn’t known how to deal with monsters—it would have become a disaster not just for Loren, but for the entire continent.
Reaching that conclusion, Gaston finally exhaled in relief.
His breath came out louder than expected, making him flinch. He glanced over, worried he’d interrupted.
Fortunately, Claude seemed to share the same relief.
“Good work. Leave the cleanup to the viscount and return for now.”
—Um… about that…
Laurent hesitated. Sensing something ominous, Claude furrowed his brow.
“Say it.”
—Jea—no, Leclerc was injured slightly, so we’ll need to stay longer.
The air around them seemed to freeze.
“Where? How bad? Is it serious?”
—She says it’s just a scrape, but the physician advised rest for the time being.
Claude leaned forward, inch by inch, as if he might climb straight into the mirror.
He hadn’t looked this shaken since the day he received news of the previous Grand Duke and Duchess’s deaths.
“I understand. I’m coming.”
—Pardon?
Laurent questioned his own ears, but Claude cut the connection without replying.
As he rose and grabbed his coat, Gaston hurried after him.
“You’re going now?”
“Then when? Should I take a nap first?”
His tone was sharp, as if offended by the question itself.
“Please wait, Your Grace.”
Gaston understood the worry—his beloved woman was injured. Still, he had to try to stop him.
The list of nobles scheduled to visit over the next few days flashed through his mind.
“Please calm down. You have appointments lined up for the next week. Wouldn’t it be better to send someone else to Cassis—”
“Postpone them all.”
“Pardon? But some nobles have already departed for Loren.”
“Cassis comes first. Tell them to wait.”
“You’re just using that as an excuse to go see Lady Jeanne!”
No matter how hard he tried to persuade him, Claude didn’t listen and left the office.
All Gaston could do was watch, dumbfounded, as his lord departed with several knights in tow.
He had served Claude his entire life, yet he had never seen him behave so recklessly.
Is he really that happy?
Gaston had known Jeanne held a place in Claude’s heart—but he hadn’t realized it was enough to make him abandon his duties.
He worried about what explanation he’d give to the heads of families arriving tomorrow, yet part of him felt relieved.
Less than a year had passed since Claude lost his family.
To heal such loss, one ultimately needed someone at their side—and if it were Jeanne, she would understand Claude better than anyone.
If Lady Jeanne were to become the Grand Duchess…
He pictured the two of them standing side by side.
They made a strikingly well-matched pair.
